Pious No More [open; CLAN MEETING]

It was the early hours of morning, yet one could not even tell that it was such.

The eclipsed sun hung heavily in the morning sky, bleeding a profuse amount of dismal crimson light into the eerily silent atmosphere. Faint rivulets of golden light were just visible from where they were deeply embedded within the peculiar sky, yet it offered no reprieve from heavy shadows that yawned across the desolate moorland. Brindlestar had not looked back once during the frigid journey, but instead kept her gaze transfixed upon where she knew the camp was. Doing such enabled her to remain focused on something so that she did not succumb to the copious amount of emotions that coiled within her being. The bitter rage that swarmed beneath her pelt still buzzed with an unrelenting fury, lending her extra strength and speed. She had been a fool to ever once believe that StarClan cared about anything other than their own rotting corpses- they'd forever stay as hateful and foolish as they had been upon the day of their death. Those bloated old fools! Anger sharpened the voice of her conscious as she shouldered her way past the prickly gorse barrier, hardly even paying mind to the tufts of fur left behind in the process. They care for nothing but themselves! They abandoned WindClan long ago, we owe them nothing.

Most appeared to be slumbering peacefully, completely unaware of what had transpired through the night. How could she be expected to relay such events to them- to tell them such a terrible truth? Carefully picking her way across the snoring forms of her Clanmates, Brindlestar was quick to clamber atop the Tallrock. Her outline was transformed into an eerie red smudge upon the infernal morning sky, her pale fur an unsightly red hue due to the viscous coloring of the obscured sun. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Tallrock for a Clan meeting!"

Iriskit had begged her parents to let her join the meeting, and she had been allowed to just as long as she didn't stay far. The kit nodded and scrambled over, noticing Brindlestar. "Hello Brindlestar!" She greeted cheerfully, looking around. "StarClan has given us some good weather, alright!" Iriskit personally thought leaf-fall was a really cool season, and she knew faith in StarClan was decreasing, but Iriskit was that kind of cat who always had faith in the spirits no matter what.

However, there was one thing that made her nervous, the way how the sun looked. "What happened to the sun?" She asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Frostpaw lifted her head, her fluffy pelt sticking out in fear. She padded closer and sat down. "What's going on?" She mewed, her voice shaking.

Twistedtail was stretched out in one of the shadowy corners of camp, where the aging cat would have been able to sleep in peace without one of the younger kits playing with her crooked tail. It was only when Brindlestar's commanding yowl echoed across the clearing that the siamese woke up. At first, the shadows of the earth and briar overhang obscured her view, and for a moment everything seemed absolutely normal. The scarred warrior got up, did a ritual stretch, and turned to face the new day.

The sun was gone.

what? The senior cat blinked and shook her head a couple of times, trying to clear her vision before looking up again.

The sun was still gone.

No, not gone, but... replaced? In place of the firey golden glow she woke up to everyday was the hollow outline of a circle. Blinding yellows were replaced with mulled tones mixed with a bloody red that seemed to ooze into the sky. The center, and the rest of the sky, was a dark, starless crimson. Was she dreaming? She had to be dreaming. She pricked herself in the paw with a claw, but it hurt. She wasn't dreaming then. This was real. In all her years, how could the sun, the very thing one could ensure was there, just go away?

Almost in a daze, Twistedtail walked over to the Tallrock, broken tail trailing behind her. She looked up to the brindled leader she had trusted all her life. "W-What's happening, Brindlestar?" Her voice quavered as she spoke.

---

Pigeonstorm and Littlepaw were also there and freaking out. I have so little time right now I'll have to edit this later.

Lionpaw padded out of the apprentice's den, yawning quietly. When he opened his golden eyes, everything was not as it was before he had fallen asleep for a small nap. His large size and fluffiness cast barely any shadow on the darkened ground. With worry, he padded towards the Tallrock. What in StarClan's name happened! The redness of the nearly vanished sun gave an almost bloody hue to his fur, making him look dangerous. Yet in spite of that, his golden eyes were for once filled with fear. He didn't know what this was, what to expect. He hadn't trained for this.

The tall tom sat, wrapping his tail tightly around his paws as if he were hugging himself. He did look up at Brindlestar though, welcoming any explanation. Anything at all.

Graybriar lifted her head at the summons of her leader, yawning and stretching before padding sleepily out of the warriors' den. Why was Brindlestar calling them to a meeting at this time of the morning? The sun wasn't out yet... wait. Neither was the moon. The gray tabby stopped short, last vestiges of sleep falling away as she tried to make sense of what happened. The sky was dark, devoid of the sun- the moon seemed to be in its normal position, but instead of glowing silver, it emanated a sickly reddish glow, bathing the whole of WindClan camp in its baleful light. The warrior stopped short, stunned, feeling her skin begin to crawl. This was- this was unnatural. The camp was eerie in the illuminating bloody glow, and everything about it made her feel uncomfortable. Something was wrong. Her facial expression grew steadily more worried with every passing second. Her shoulders hunched forward as she sat down, and her thin tail whipped around her paws, hugging it closer to her body. She couldn't hide from the strange light, however- or the fact that something was going on. "Brindlestar... what is this?" the former SkyClan she-cat asked hesitantly, wanting to shrink into her own fur.

Quailfeather awoke at her cousin's yell, startled into awareness. She heard just as well as she used to, despite her torn-up ear. She nudged Silentstrike, noticing that the tom was still snoring- just like him. He slept through anything. With a small smile, the injured old elder began to half-drag, half-push herself out of the elders' den, then she noticed that something was off. There was no daylight, or starlight. A strange red glow covered the moor, and all the cats below looked up at Brindlestar with apprehension. "What the...?" Her one good blue eye concerned, the maimed elder lay half-standing by the den's entrance, openmouthed, suddenly frightened. Nothing like this had happened since the Mist came and stole cats away... and Smokefang of the Dark Forest tried to take over the Clans again. Had she come back? What was happening now?

Foxspirit drowsily got out of her nest, but something was wrong. It was dark. She shifted uncomfortably. The sun should be up by now! What's happened? Foxspirit made her way out of the warriors den. The worried she-cat looked up to the sky with fearful green eyes. To her absolute horror, the sun was gone. No sign of it except a faint ring of eerie red light. "Brindlestar, what happened to the sun?! Do you know?"

A curious head poked out of the nursery. Briarkit looked around. Why was it dark? Shouldn't the sun be up by now? The kit looked around with distressed eyes before darting to his mother, attempting to hide under her tail. "Mommy, why is it so scary outside?" he whined. "You said the outside is nice! Why isn't it?"

Despite the clamor of uneasy voices, a grim silence weighed heavily upon the clearing. Brindlestar's hunched being was stiff and terse, a macabre energy seemingly emanating from her somber aura. The barrage of her questions went unanswered and largely unacknowledged, even as the panic rapidly mounted. Somewhere within the vermilion shadows that crawled across the camp, she could still see Littlestar's bloodied form- shudder after shudder wracking her being as life after life slipped away. It wasn't natural, every thought somehow circled back to the one that stubbornly lingered on, none of this was natural. No cat should be able to do such things. The infernal eclipsed morning sun seemed to taunt her, finding every last fault within her weak denials. Blinking away the hazy tendrils of the unpleasant thoughts and memories, she forced herself into a more upright seated position. How could you explain such terrible events when you yourself don't even understand them? The well-worn surface of the Tallrock crumbled easily under the apprehensive gouging of her flexing claws. What lawless times.

"RiverClan was given a prophecy that foretold the destruction of the Clans, born by the paws of a single cat." Brindlestar's voice was unusually stark, "While they did spread word of the impending eradication, they did not work to fight the evil that had arisen within their very own Clan. They allowed a young tom by the name of Lichenmask to rise to power, to find support in not only RiverClan, but every Clan within the forest. Thornleap, Rockjaw, Darkpaw, and Mothpaw all chose to abandon their Clan and kin at the behest of this cat, so if you see so much as a single whisker from any of them, do not hesitate to leave their bodies for the crows. This cat has abilities unlike anything I've ever witnessed before- words cannot even begin to describe his powers.. He's a great foe, greater than Shade or Rockthorn could ever even dream of becoming." Her tail restlessly stirred the light coating of snow-like dust atop the Tallrock, stirring the flakes into a slight cloud that hung heavily in the desolate morning light. A crushing weight was seemingly comfortable within the confines of her chest as she spoke, making each word difficult to spit out. Speaking aloud made it appear as though she was submitting to the true gravity of the situation, like her paws were being forced upon a path. She didn't want to acknowledge these terrible happenings, she didn't wish for her Clanmates to suffer under the fear of what all Lichenmask could do. A cat who could not only change the very moon and sun, but strip a Leader of every last life in a single blow was dangerous. Who knew what else he could do- what more damage he could leave in his wake? "He requested that every Leader and Deputy trek to Fourtrees to listen to what he had to say, which happened just prior to sunrise. It was there that Lichenmask declared that he was the voice of StarClan, the enforcer of their will- and that StarClan wished for us to murder the impure." Her voice shook with a faint note of outrage as she relayed the proceedings of the ill-fated meeting at Fourtrees, "When every Clan denied him of this request, he declared war upon the Clans. Not only was Lichenmask able to change the moon and the sun without hardly any effort, he also stripped Littlestar of every life in a single blow."

"We are amidst a war unlike anything ever seen before. Our enemy is not any Clan, nor the Dark Forest, nor outsiders, but our Ancestors who have turned their backs upon us in favor of a cat as cruel as Lichenmask. Although I cannot tell you when or where, I know that a battle is brewing. And when this battle comes, WindClan shall fight only for ourselves- we shall follow the words of no Ancestors and we shall only look to the present that we live within. If casting aside those who readily abandoned us is the price for our survival, then so be it." Brindlestar's features were hardened as she finished, unrelenting even in the faces of horror upon all those who had settled below her. There is no price too high.

Iriskit listened to Brindlestar's words and couldn't help but feel a bit scared. Her fur stood on end a bit, but she didn't like how she seemed to be mad at StarClan. StarClan did nothing wrong! Maybe they were being manipulated by Lichenmask or something? "We should still have faith in StarClan!" The young lilac point kit meowed, avoiding her mother's glare. "I'll have faith in them always!"

In Iriskit's opinion, she was not a kit who was ignorant to certain knowledge, she always had faith in StarClan and would try to be brave during this eclipse for her Clanmates. And about that prophecy and all, Iriskit would be brave against that too, and she wouldn't leave anyone for dead.

OOC: someone tell off iriskit

Swiftstep sat under the Tallrock, uncomfortably shifting his gaze around. His eyes never once locked with anyone else's. He had witnessed the true power and evil present in the forest. All the way back to camp, he never spoke a word. Had Starclan really abandoned them? Had they left them to suffer and deal with Lichenmask and his followers? The tom still trusted that not all the starry cats above had abandoned the clans. They just couldn't reach them or send them signs. Despite his strong trust in Starclan, he was going to stand strong along side his leader for whatever was to come. He was as loyal to his clan as any cat could get. Windclan will stand their ground no matter what.

A jolt woke the young WindClan tom from his slumber. For a few brief moments, he thought it was just sunrise. But no, something was terribly, terribly wrong. Deerpaw looked towards the unholy red circle in the sky where the sun should be and felt his fur raise with alarm. Brindlestar's announcement only set him more on-edge though his face showed little of what he felt. He raised his head, trying not to let the crashing waves of emotions leak into his voice. "And what of the sun and moon?" His twitching tail relayed some of his unease. Littlestar's violent death wasn't lost on him either. How much power did this cat have? "Do we live without them until we can do anything about it? Can we do anything?" He was no tracker. His immediate concern was that of food and predators; surely the foxes, badgers, eagles and hawks would be thrown off by this as well. They'd be completely unpredictable.

---
A deep chill ran down Spiderfur's spine and it didn't help that the sun and stars were gone, not even the moon would grace them with its ghostly presence. She stood so still one would think she were either frozen or dead. Ice cold claws dug into her stomach and set her fur on-end. It was all she could do to not turn tail and run straight through the briar barrier, from what she didn't know. 'To steal the sun and moon and stars and kill Littlestar nine times over, who is this?' Four of their clanmates had abandoned them as well, for a RiverClan cat no less! The senior warrior didn't know what to think or what to do. Soft brown eyes moved to the empty, blood-tinted sky. She prayed they would listen, even if they weren't convinced. 'Absolute clan purity. Did you mean for this, mom? Did I betray you? Brother, did you think me better than you, that I wouldn't fall for someone outside WindClan too? That my faith in the code may have slipped when I thought the clans would never recover from the Dark Forest?' Her wide gaze moved to her Swiftstep, her youngest and last son. A great lump formed in her throat. Could they hear her? Were they even trying? 'I don't regret it. But I beg you, don't let any harm come to him. Please. It was my decision, not his.'

Graybriar's heart sank more and more as she listened, and she drew Briarkit close to her chest, holding him fast with her long tail. "Hush, Briarkit, everything will be fine...." But would it really? A prophecy foretelling destruction, cats abandoning WindClan, the supposed will of StarClan- none of this boded well. Then, she flinched at the next words. This cat wanted the leaders to murder all impure cats? Would that include her- a former SkyClan she-cat who had switched Clans at StarClan's behest? Surely, no cat could be that heartless, advocating that much killing among cats of all Clans and backgrounds. But... here was Brindlestar, telling them all about it. It was a small breath of relief that no leader had agreed to the crazy tom's demands, but then answers for her earlier question arrived- Lichenmask had stolen the sun, and Littlestar had been brutally killed. The world was being turned upside down, and she had absolutely no idea what she was supposed to do about it. She was a mother- how would she protect her precious kits, let alone her Clanmates? What would they do? Her ears pinned back, the warrior just stared up at her leader, barely comprehending her words. She was completely turning her back on StarClan! Among other things, the fact that this alarmed her most surely said something about her. If all the Clans united with their ancestors, they might be able to fix this horrible wrong and find out what was wrong- because surely, Ashstar and Pansyface and the others would never do this to them. But instead, Brindlestar was completely separating from the other Clans and their former Clanmates. "Brindlestar," the warrior meowed with more than a little concern, "this can't be right. We need to be uniting, drawing together- not moving closer apart. Isn't there something that we can figure out if all the Clans work together?"

OOC: Lesson of the day: Pigeonstorm is easily angered.


"...declared that he was the voice of StarClan, the enforcer of their will- and that StarClan wished for us to murder the impure."


Anger, pure and fiery, rushed over Pigeonstorm's scrawny form. The fur on the back of the severely scarred tom bristled as he just managed to control his temper. "That was what Bear told me," the corner of his mind thought, the small part of him that still looked back to his past, that didn't push it away constantly. "To 'kill those mangy clan cats, who can't accept we aren't of their pure blood.'" Bear was just happening all over again, just this time it was on the opposite side. He thought of Bat and Pepper, the kind rogues that found and raised him. He thought of the clan cat that Bat had killed, snapped her neck like prey to protect him. He thought of the clan cats that snapped his friend's necks with just as little effort. He thought of how Bear had trained him to kill with a single swipe. He thought of cats killed with that single swipe. He thought of his kits with Annabelle. His descendants, who had left their mother to live with the clans. He thought of his grandson Swoopnose, who he cared for so dearly.

And now they were going to die.

Because of Starclan.

He couldn't contain it anymore. "I-I can't b-b-believe ut! I luuked u-up to Starclan! T-Those rutton bastards d-don't deserve tuh b-b-be the ones we look u-up to!" Pigeonstorm spat through a broken jaw, froth pratically flying. "We p-prayed tuh them, we- we relied n them, we worshipped them! And thuh j-just decide tuh commit genocide?!" The patchy-furred gray cat looked up at the blood-colored sky, a low growl emitting from his throat. "Those 'Ancestors' are dead to me. I hope they burn."

---

Littlepaw's green gaze, one that was normally quiet and busy admiring the flowers, were fixed upon the scarlet sky above. Her body trembled, and the delicate tabby barely managed to hold back a cry. What would Starclan do to her? The glimmering lights in the sky, ones that she used to admire, ones that she used to write poems about with Clearpaw, had now betrayed her. The petite she-cat didn't know who her parents were, nor did anyone but Starclan- would they kill her? Was she impure? What had she done wrong to deserve such treatment? Worse, what would they do to Clearpaw, her only friend? She would be so lonely without the poetic tom to write verses with.

"I-I'm scared," she whimpered quietly, looking at Brindlestar-- who herself looked quite defeated-- in silent terror. The fact that her adoptive father Pigeonstorm was blowing a fuse did not help at all to comfort her. Littlepaw, being the sensitively-hearted cat she was began to cry a little. "What are they going to do to us? I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die..."

Frostpaw padded over to Littlepaw. "I-It's ok. We'll be ok." She whispered, sitting down next to her. She curled her cream and brown tail around her sister. She brushed her cheek against her sister's, tears pricking her aqua-colored eyes.